


A flap of fairy wings

by Mackerel_art



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, But I don't know how to tag for that, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fae & Fairies, Fanart, M/M, More like "wow he's annoying" to "actually I like him", Pixie Hollow AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-16 10:00:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29080500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mackerel_art/pseuds/Mackerel_art
Summary: Art-talent fairy Steve is forced to partner with tinker-talent fairy Tony for a treasure hunt that they both want to win. The only issue is that they need to work together to win, and they haven’t gotten along… ever.Art, with a bonus story!
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 7
Kudos: 77





	A flap of fairy wings

**Author's Note:**

> Give this post some love on tumblr [here](https://mackerel-art.tumblr.com/post/641758820531650560/read-on-ao3-here-the-pots-discord-server-was)  
> No knowledge of Pixie Hollow is needed, but I’ve explained some terms so it’s easier to understand:  
> Talents: Each never fairy is born with their own talent, which serves as their role in society. These include the art-talent and tinker-talent fairies, which are our beloved main characters’ talents. The talents are self-explanatory.  
> Sparrowman: the term for a male fairy  
> The Mainland: Literally just England. Those familiar with this universe will know that fairies are now allowed to visit the mainland, but for this story’s sake, let’s pretend they still aren’t allowed.  
> The treasure hunt is based on a Pixie Hollow book that I read… A very long time ago. Only the last clue is the same.

Steve’s day did not start as planned.

He was late, and to the very event that he was most looking forward to! At this rate, he wouldn’t even find a partner in time. He hopped out of his soft dandelion-stuffed bed, and zipped over to his door, nearly knocking over his bucket of raspberry red paint in his haste. After grabbing his trusty leaf messenger bag and fastening his large brush to his belt, Steve flew out the door as fast as he could.

Today is the day of the great fairy treasure hunt! After the fairies had protected the Hollow from a particularly persistent kettle of hawks, Queen Clarion had set up a treasure hunt. Steve knew his friends were particularly competitive; Natasha had been arguing her fast flying-talent abilities would help her get to the clues faster than Clint, who said his scouting-talent prepared him for finding clues (Steve, whose most impressive skill was painting detailed landscapes, had stayed silent).

To participate in the fairy treasure hunt, he had to find a partner. And because he was late, there was probably no one left.

“Oh, splinters,” said Steve, as he arrived at the courtyard. It was packed! Fairies were already grouped in pairs. He desperately looked around to find his friends. Natasha was already deep in conversation with Bruce. Clint was gesturing wildly at Thor, whose countenance was more serious than Steve had ever seen it.

Steve sighed with relief when he found Bucky, his best friend. However, when he approached him, he found he was standing next to… Sam? Steve narrowed his eyes.

Bucky, upon spotting him, blinked in surprise. “Oh, Steve! You’re here! I thought you left already!”

Steve’s glow flushed a pale orange with embarrassment. “I… might have overslept.”

Sam whistled. “Wow. I’ve never known you, of all people, to oversleep.”

“I know,” Steve groans. “Of all days, too! Now everyone has a partner… except me.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Bucky says, wincing. “I thought that you had gotten here super early when I couldn’t find you! I would have never chosen Sam otherwise.”

“Hey! I’m a fine partner!”

Steve ignored Bucky and Sam’s bickering as he saw Queen Clarion waving at him out of the corner of his eye. He quickly excused himself to meet with the Queen.

“I saw that you were missing a partner, and I have just the fairy for you,” she said. Steve straightened his shoulders. He might have a chance after all! The Queen smiles and steps aside, to reveal—

Tony. Of course, with the rotten day he’s having, he would get Tony as his partner.

Steve didn’t exactly hate Tony, and Tony didn’t exactly hate Steve (at least, he hoped so). They just butt heads sometimes. And by sometimes, he means _always_. Tony was often loud, showing off, flying circles around everyone, literally and figuratively. The tinker fairy was clever and sharp-witted, yet he never followed rules! It was a wonder that the summoning-talents hardly stopped him from being reckless all the time. And, the most irritating part, was that he was a perfect painting subject! Don’t get him wrong, Steve did not _like_ Tony, but sometimes when he was done sketching fairies in the studio and Tony was one of them, he would trace the outline of his jawline on the paper. But that’s certainly _not_ because he thought Tony was handsome.

By the scowl on Tony’s face, he wasn’t too pleased with his assigned partner, either. “Queen Clarion,” he said, cloying voice sweet as honey, “You couldn’t possibly find me another partner?”

Steve turned to the Queen hopefully, but she shook her head. “I’m afraid you two are the last ones left,” she said. “But I have full faith in your abilities! Last week, you were able to work so wonderfully together to help us protect Pixie Hollow from the hawks. I’m sure you can work together again!” And with that, she flew to a nearby rock and clapped her hands. “Now that everyone has their partners,” she announced, “my helpers will hand out the clues!”

Fairies and Sparrowmen raced to the helpers, who were holding large baskets with dozens of white envelopes. Tony, next to Steve, sighed. “Come on,” he said, “Let’s get this over with. It’s your fault I’m stuck with you.”

Steve, offended, turned to Tony as they waited for the fairies in front of them to collect their clue. “Well, I did oversleep, but I’m not at fault for you _also_ being the last one without a partner! What kept you from arriving early, anyway?”

“Oh please,” Tony scoffed, “You already know I’m never on time. But I was researching at the library and didn’t watch the clock well enough. You know, busy memorizing the map and anything that could help. Did you know that the greeting, ‘fly with you’ originally was, ‘I would happily—'”

“Not relevant,” Steve interjected, plucking up an envelope. He didn’t want to listen to Tony speak more than he had to.

Tony knew many fairies in Pixie Hollow were… saccharine sweet and earnest. Tony was not one of them, and he would rather clip his wings than be insufferable like them! However, Steve _absolutely_ was one of those fairies, always neat, always following rules, always polite and charming…

No! No. The less he thinks about that, the better.

Except Tony can’t _not_ think about it, because Steve was hovering next to him, reading a clue with a frown.

“I am the place where you go to visit any other place in the world.” Steve frowned. “How can you be in two places at once?”

Tony concentrated hard. “Oh,” he crows, “the Fairy Tale Theater! They always say they will transport you to another world before their plays.” He smirked at Steve. “Lucky you have someone fast to pull someone as slow as you are along.”

Steve’s glow turned a delicious cherry red. That’s why Tony loves messing with him: it’s fun, and he’s so expressive. “Did you just imply that I’m slow?”

“No, of course not,” Tony said with a grin. “I _called_ you slow.” And with that, he’s off in the air like an arrow.

“Tony!”

By the time they’ve reached the theater, many other fairies were there. Tony scrunched his nose. He was not looking forward to pushing past so many fairies to find the clue. By his side, Steve brightened and grabbed his hand.

“Hey, watch it—”

“Shh! I bet it’s in the props. They’re grouped by play. I bet the play that the next clue is hidden in is where the next hint is!”

Tony begrudgingly agreed and followed Steve backstage. He rustled through a few set pieces. There was nothing on the palm tree or watermill standees. He saw a shine and a flutter of paper, and his heart dropped.

“Steve,” said Tony quietly, putting his hand on his shoulder. “I found the next clue on a ruby. The next clue is probably in Never Mine.”

Steve looked up from the prop-filled treasure chest he was digging through. “Oh, brilliant! Let’s get out of here and get to the mine before everyone else.”

Tony sighed and followed Steve out the back of the theater and into the morning sky. Of course, the treasure hunt would lead them underground.

They had a little bit of time to kill before arriving at the Mine, and Tony somehow managed to act fidgety mid-flight, so Steve decided to strike up a conversation.

“I didn’t peg you for one who was so interested in lunch with the Queen in her private gazebo, jewels, and treasure.”

Tony took a while to respond, as if he didn’t expect Steve to talk to him.

“I’m actually more interested in the mainland objects that are rumored to be in the treasure the Queen is giving the winners,” he said. “I think I could use them for tinkering. Maybe some nice parts that will go nicely in the music box I’m fixing.”

Steve nodded. That did seem like something Tony would do.

“What about you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Anything _you_ want? A nice lunch? A look at those shiny Fairy Jewels the Queen promised us?”

“The experience,” Steve admitted. “It’s nice to have a day off and get to explore. But also, now I’m _really_ in it, and I have a bit of a competitive streak.”

Tony smiled to himself, and Steve found himself growing defensive.

“What?”

“Oh, nothing, that’s just a very _you_ answer.” Steve opened his mouth to argue, but Tony waved his hand. “I never said it was a _bad_ thing.”

Steve decided to drop the subject right when he spotted a wooden sign jutting out from the side of the cliff. “I found the mine,” he said. “Not many others seem to be here. Let’s hurry inside!"

The deeper they travelled into the mine, the slower Tony’s footsteps became.

“We should hurry,” Steve urged, “or we’ll lose our lead.”

Tony looked up at the sound of Steve’s voice and nodded. “Oh. Yes, of course.”

_He was being oddly polite, wasn’t he?_ Steve pushed that thought aside and journeyed on until he reached a fork in the path.

Tony frowned. “Which way should we go?”

Steve shrugged. “We could split up. If there are any more tunnels, we should just meet up here and decide where to go from there.”

Tony looked at him incredulously. “That’s how we’ll get lost!” Is he… shaking?

_Hum_ , Steve thought, _he’s acting strange. He looks like that poor chipmunk we rescued from a bramble patch: trapped, and… a bit frightened._

“Tony, are you okay?” Steve asked. Tony looked like he was about to explode.

“No, okay, I’m not,” Tony confessed. “I don’t like being underground.”

“Oh. Well, that’s okay. Plenty of fairies don’t like being—”

“You don’t get it, Steve,” Tony sighed. “I was trapped in a cave once. I spent days in there, without light. I was so lucky that Rhodey was able to rescue me.”

Steve’s eyes widened. “I’m so sorry,” he said, and took Tony’s hand. “You didn’t deserve to go through that.”

“Really?” Tony mumbled. “Thought you hated me.”

“I don’t!” Steve exclaimed, horrified. “We just… don’t agree sometimes, and I suppose I’ve been making assumptions about you. But maybe it’s time we tried to get along.”

Tony smiled shyly, something Steve was unaware he was able to do. _Huh. You learn new things every day._

“Yeah. Maybe we should. Get along, I mean. Friends?”

“Friends.”

Steve was suddenly acutely aware that they were standing in the middle of a mine, holding hands. He felt his glow turn bright orange and dropped Tony’s hand—only for a squeaking sound to emit down the tunnel, which made Tony startle and grab his hand again.

“What in Neverland was _that?_ ”

Before Steve could respond, a large bat flew out of the tunnel! He tackled Tony to the ground before it could bowl them over.

“Are you okay?”

Tony’s normally pristine jacket was a bit muddy and rumpled. “Yeah,” he breathed. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” Steve replied, and noticed a worn paper fluttering down. The clue!

Tony snatched it out of the air. “The bat must have accidentally moved it from deep inside the cavern,” he said. “You’ll find the next clue at the highest rock where the colors change.”

“Ah, I know,” Steve crowed with excitement. “Where the Summer Grove meets the Autumn Forest! I’ve painted the color changes in the leaves dozens of times.”

Tony dropped the clue and tugged on Steve’s sleeve. “That was fast. Let’s get there first!”

Steve, eager to get Tony out of the dark cavern, quickly led him outside.

Steve and Tony were having a nice conversation—a real conversation, for once—as they walked through the woods. Steve knew finding the rock was easier on foot because the thick canopy of trees hid it.

“I wonder if anyone else is here,” said Tony as he skipped along. He seemed back to his old self now that the cave debacle was over.

“We were one of the first to the cave,” Steve said. “Probably not many.”

“So, it’s just us and a few others?”

“And whatever animals are here, but I haven’t got a clue what kinds. Squirrels? Finches?”

“Hopefully, nothing that eats fairies,” Tony joked.

Steve laughed with him. “I’ll protect you if there are.”

Tony fake swooned. “My hero,” he said, grinning at Steve. Steve started to respond, but a rustle in the bushes caught his attention.

“Who is it?” he called out. No one responded.

There was a chittering noise that Tony seemed unnerved by. “I… can’t tell if that was sinister or not.”

The bushes keep rustling—and it’s a large rustle. _What if it’s a hawk? I don’t think the two of us are going to be enough against that!_

A twig snapped and Tony jumped and clung to Steve’s arm. Steve pulled out his paintbrush and turned it around, pointing the butt end of his brush at the bushes.

“Who is it?” Steve repeated, louder. The leaves parted, and…

A raccoon walked out.

Steve and Tony sighed in relief as it left the clearing. Tony was still clinging to Steve. They looked at each other and burst into laughter.

“My goodness,” Tony said in between bouts of laughter, “I think we worried ourselves to death for no reason.”

“A raccoon!” Steve shook his head. “Aren’t we silly.”

Tony smiled and shifted his arm down, so he was holding Steve’s hand and not his arm. Despite his hardest efforts, Steve feels his glow turn orange. “Show me where the rock is,” Tony said. “We’ve wasted enough time here already.”

They finally reached the rock and flew to the top, where words were painted with fading berry juice. A few fairies must have gotten here before them, after all. Steve read the words out loud.

“Unscramble me and you will see the name of a well-known tree.” Tony frowned. “I see you can make the words ‘birch’, ‘oak’, and ‘cherry’, but I don’t know how to figure out the rest of the letters.”

Tony crossed his arms. “There is… a zebra hickory tree,” he said. He then brightened. “Of course! The tree by the shore!”

It took a while for them to make their way over, but once they arrived at the tree, they saw one of the lost boys, Tootles.

“Hello Tootles,” Steve said politely. Tony impatiently flew in circles beside him. They didn’t have time for small talk!

“Oh finally, someone here for the clue,” said Tootles, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket. “‘Go straight to the Fairy Circle,’” he read. “‘And when you see me, please stand on your head and oink like a pig. Sincerely, Queen Clarion.’”

“Are you kidding me?” Tony sighed. “How can I have my dignity if I do that?”

“No, wait,” Steve said. “May I see the paper, please?”

Tony went to interject, but then stopped himself. Steve had been nothing but kind to him all day. He owed his friend enough to listen to him.

Tootles threw the paper at them and ran off towards the cove. “Knock yourselves out,” he called over his shoulder. Steve picked up the paper.

“I knew it,” he exclaimed triumphantly, “This isn’t the real clue. All the words are spelled wrong.” Peter Pan must have left Tootles to prank the fairies!

“Besides,” quipped Tony, “I doubt Queen Clarion would make us oink like a pig. Honestly, I’m just relieved I don’t have to do that.”

Tony looked up and saw Steve looking at him with an odd expression on his face. He was smiling at him. How peculiar! And yet, Tony felt his glow flush orange a little, something he hadn’t done for… a while. He wasn’t used to being exposed to the warm light of Steve’s real smile without his many walls to protect him.

Tony cleared his throat and looked around. “Where is the real clue, though?”

They searched around together, twisting between the tree’s many branches. Eventually, Tony called out Steve’s name by the bottom of the tree.

“I found the real clue, in the Queen’s handwriting!”

Steve raced over and read it out loud. “You’re almost there! Meet me at the Fairy Circle and say, “I would happily…” he trailed off, heart sinking. “The rest is blurred. It must have gotten wet.”

Tony stared at the paper, dismayed. “Oh dear. I guess we should return to the Fairy Circle, anyways.”

Steve agreed with him, and they flew back, disappointed.

When Steve and Tony made it to the middle of the Fairy Circle, they saw the Queen. In front of her was Clint and Thor, balanced on their head, oinking. Steve winced. He was relieved he was sensible enough not to believe Peter’s prank.

Queen Clarion smiled and shook her head as the other fairies laughed. Every pair that arrived had made the same mistake, and none of them had gotten the right clue. She saw Steve and Tony and brightened.

“Ah, Steve and Tony!” She spoke. “You’ve made it to the end. Do you have anything to say to me?”

Steve took a deep breath, and started, “I would happily…” The Queen looked hopeful, but Steve didn’t know how to continue. He started to apologize, until…

Tony made a sudden noise like he was having an epiphany. “I would happily fly with you,” he said, “to the farthest reaches of Never Arbor and to the top of Torth Mountain if you asked.”

Steve looked at him, surprised. Where had that come from?

Tony, perhaps catching Steve’s perplexion, turned to him. “I read it last night when I was researching,” he explained. “I just now remembered the rest of the greeting.”

Of course! The greeting Tony had been rambling about, back at the courtyard! Steve now remembered how he cut Tony off and winced. He felt awful about that now.

“You did it!” Queen Clarion clapped her hands. “Tonight, when everyone has returned, we shall host a moonlight picnic, in your honor.”

All the fairies went to chatter amongst themselves, and Tony flew off—no doubt, he had spotted Rhodey or Pepper. Steve found Bucky standing with a very grumpy Sam and flew over with a big grin.

“You actually did it,” marveled Bucky, “and with Tony, no less. I thought you’d spend so much time arguing, you’d be the last ones to return.”

“He’s not so bad,” said Steve. Bucky stared at him.

“Really? Then why do I remember you complaining about him all the time?”

“Well, we talked,” Steve said, suddenly self-conscious. “I just… He’s… nice, I just needed to give him another chance. He’s super smart, too! I would have never won without him, if he didn’t—”

“Pull that stunt at the end, yeah,” said Sam, looking particularly mischievous. “I didn’t expect you two to be best buddies.”

“Shut up, Sam!” Steve knows his glow is a bright orange.

Sam just put his hands up and chuckled. “I’m just saying. I have caught you looking at him longingly in the past. You aren’t very subtle.”

Steve doesn’t know how to respond to that. He’s had enough self-growth for the day to admit to himself that Sam is right.

Later that night, while the light-talent fairies were setting up for the show, Steve arrived at the meadow. He caught someone waving at him out of the corner of his eye. It was Tony, sitting on an oak tree stump with a plate of neverberry cake on his lap.

“Oh, you’re here,” Tony said. “So many fairies and sparrowmen have offered for me to sit with them, but I felt like I should share this moment with you.” A beat. “Only if you want, of course,” he corrected hastily. “It’s okay if you don’t—”

“I’d love to sit with you,” Steve smiled and landed by Tony, who calmed down. He set his own plate—piled high with honeycomb cakes—next to him and scooted so his knee touched Tony.

“It’s funny,” he began, “If you told me this is where I’d end up at the end of the day, I would have called you crazy.”

“I know what you mean,” said Tony. “I’m just glad you don’t hate me anymore.”

“I told you, I never hated you!” Steve exclaimed. He looked at Tony’s face. _Oh. He was just joking._ “To be honest, I was just… maybe a _bit_ intimidated by you.”

“Really, little old me?”

Steve elbowed him. “Oh, shush. You’re smart, and everyone loves you, and you always made fun of me.”

“That’s because I liked you,” Tony blurted out. “Oh, dear. I didn’t mean to say that out loud. Can you forget I said that?”

Steve simply blinked at him. “Why me?”

Tony, perhaps sensing Steve didn’t plan on dropping that anytime soon, sighed. “Are you kidding? Why _not_ you? You’re kind, charming, and handsome. Also, seriously, why do you have such large muscles? Last time I checked, you _paint_ all day! Where did they come from?!”

“I exercise early in the morning,” Steve said faintly. He’s still shocked. Tony huffed and turned towards the light slow.

There was a silence, then Steve gathered every ounce of courage he had.

“Hey, Tony?”

“Mmm?”

“The Summer festival is soon. Go with me?”

Tony turned, pleasantly surprised. “Really?”

“Yeah.”

“I… yes, I’d love to,” Tony said happily. “So… You and me?”

“I’ve liked you for a while. It can’t be that much more unbelievable than _you_ liking _me_.”

Tony smiled and dropped his head onto Steve’s shoulder. Steve knew he had a big, stupid grin on his face.

He wrapped his arm around Tony’s shoulder and drew him closer as they watched the show.


End file.
